Dear GME Community,
Cindy Hamra Associate Dean, GME
It’s the start of the new academic year and we welcome our new residents and fellows. News & Notes is a monthly blog post from the GME Office sharing useful information.
In this month’s issue, you’ll find information about new policies, several upcoming events, and awards and honors for members of our community. Please also remember that any concerns can be raised (including anonymously) via GME’s Report a Concern tool.
As usual, if there’s anything you’d like to see included in next month’s News & Notes, please let me know.
Thank you,
Cindy
Policies and Processes
- Rapid antigen tests are available: UW is making FDA-authorized, over-the-counter rapid antigen self-test kits available to UW students and personnel at no cost. Distribution and use of these kits is not part of any research study. More info is available at the UW COVID-19 testing website.
- Quality and Safety Foundations Course: The COVID-19 pandemic, financial crises, and overdue calls to enhance the equity of all we do have created unprecedented professional and personal strains. As we partner to overcome these challenges, it is vital that we undertake activities directed at improving the quality, safety, value, and equity of our work.
- The 2022-2023 academic year introduces a number of changes within our community. Program Directors and Program Administrators should be sure to review:
- The door code to the UWMC-ML Housestaff Quarters (the “Crow’s Nest”) changed on June 7. Please see the same day email from Cindy Hamra for complete information.
Program Information
- Welcome New Program Administrator:
- Elsa Hagos, Interventional Radiology (Integrated and Independent)
- The GMEC has approved appointment of the following new program directors; all appointments await ACGME confirmation:
- Jonathon Cogen, Pediatric Pulmonology
- Application for ACGME Recognition of Sponsoring Institution with Non-Standard Training (NST) Programs for J-1 Sponsorship: At the July GMEC meeting, the Committee reviewed the application for ACGME Recognition of the UWSOM as a Sponsoring Institution with NST Programs for J-1 Sponsorship. The new requirements apply to all non-ACGME accredited clinical training programs that plan to have fellows on an Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)-sponsored J-1 starting July 2023. Please direct questions to Gabrielle Pett (nathangl@uw.edu).
- The Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC) approved revisions to several policies at the July meeting. All are posted on the Policies and Procedures page of the GME website.
- Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) Policy: The policy was updated to reflect the current ACGME requirements. Revisions include adding a policy purpose statement; updating the language to reflect current requirement for CCC membership and functions of the CCC; adding recommendation for EDI, feedback, and remediation training for CCC members; updating the language for documentation and confidentially of CCC meetings and updating ACGME resources for CCC to the current ones.
- Eligibility, Recruitment, and Selection Policy for Non-ACGME Programs: new policy for all non-ACGME accredited clinical fellowship programs, requiring programs to define eligibility criteria and communicate to applicants in a program-specific eligibility and selection policy.
- GMEC Approved (Non-ACGME Accredited) Programs Policy: policy revised to incorporate the new ACGME NST recognition requirements and remove program requirements and standards which have been folded into the revised Educational Standards for Non-ACGME Programs (separate document).
- New Program Director Appointment Policy: Revisions were made to include non-ACGME programs (including Non-Standard Training (NST) Programs) in the scope; adding a policy purpose statement; and outlining the procedure for GMEC approval of PDs of non-ACGME programs.
Events of Interest
- GME Lunch & Learns
- July GME Meet & Greet on Tuesday July 26 from 2 – 2:45pm PT! At these quarterly events we welcome new Program Directors and Program Administrators (<1 year) into the community, introduce you to a few key GME staff members and share more about our areas of work. This is an informal, introductory event for our newest colleagues to meet each other and the GME team.
- Can’t make it in July? Save the date for our next GME Meet & Greet in October.
- GME Program Administrators Meeting: Tuesday, August 9, 8:30 to 10:30 am. Dipti Chrastka, Director, GME Wellness Service will facilitate the session focused on PA Wellness.
- IMGs and Visa Sponsorship: Thursday, September 29, 3-4pm
- Life After Residency Seminar is on Saturday August 27th. This event is intended to educate and support graduating trainees on their transition to independent practice, addressing topics such as writing cover letters, negotiating salary and benefits, how to read your employment contract and more. Trainees of all levels are invited to attend.
- Other GME Events including AY23 can be found on our calendar.
Projects and Resources
- GME’s Chief Resident and Chief Fellow Resources webpage contains many resources to guide Chief Residents and Fellows through their appointment.
- The UW Medicine Center for Scholarship in Patient Care Quality and Safety is proud to announce the (re)-launch of QI Match, an online web platform to match collaborators to quality improvement and patient safety initiatives across UW Medicine. Get started today.
- The American Medical Women’s Association hosted a 1-hour Program, Guiding Challenged Residents in Challenging Times featuring Dr. Chris Bundy, Executive Director, WPHP. Recording here. Please feel free to distribute.
- The General Surgery Resident Room at HMC celebrated its grand opening on June 15th.
People
- Welcome to new NURF leadership for AY23!
- President: Dr. Gabriel Mendoza, Pediatrics (incoming Allergy and Immunology Fellow)
- Vice President: Dr. Sherise Epstein, OTO (incoming PGY5/R4)
- Secretary/Treasurer: Dr. Eric Robles, Pediatrics (incoming PGY2)
- Education Chair: Dr. Ivonne Beltran, Family Med (incoming PGY2)
- Community Outreach Chair: Dr. Andrea Diaz, Internal Med (incoming PGY2)
- Medical Student Outreach Chair: Dr. Adil Malik, PM&R (incoming PGY3)
- Social Media Chair: Dr. Osayd Assad, Internal Med (incoming PGY2)
- HQSC Liaison: Jessica Sher, PM&R (incoming PGY2)
- Welcome to new HQSC leadership for AY23!
- Vickie Hau, Anesthesiology, Co-Chair
- Karly Williams Silva, Internal Medicine, Co-Chair
- Brianne Caoyonan, Anesthesia, Squirrel
- Spencer Pecha, Anesthesia, Squirrel
- Omar Bayomy, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Chair of Development
- Jessica Pinot, Internal Medicine, Chair of Publications
- Andrew Barbour, Radiation Oncology, Chair of Equity and Diversity
- Juri De Jong, Internal Medicine, Chair of Sustainability
- Recent graduates of the UW internal medicine residency, Ryan Abe, Lynsey Bernfeld, Anna Morenz, and Hasib Yousufzai, have received a $20,000 grant from leading internal medicine organizations to build a longitudinal Health Equity and Anti-Racism (HEAR) curriculum within the internal medicine residency and thus help develop a more trustworthy health care system. Read more on the Department of Medicine news site.
- Justin Bullock, fellow (Nephrology) talks about Pride and Intersectionality in the latest issue of Med.
- Eric Chow, fellow, is lead author, and Helen Chu, associate professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “The Clinical and Genomic Epidemiology of Rhinovirus in Homeless Shelters-King County, Washington” in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
- Ruth Deya, R1 (Medicine), is lead author, and Susan Graham, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “Yield and Coverage of Active Case Finding Interventions for Tuberculosis Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” in Tuberculosis Research and Treatment. DOM co-authors are Linnet Masese and David Horne.
- Callistus Ditah, Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow, provides his insights in the “New Beginnings for Heart Failure Patients” feature in the Spring Surgery Synopsis.
- Lauren Feld, fellow (Gastroenterology) is senior author of “On the Importance of Safe Access to Reproductive Options for Adolescents and Women with Liver Disease” in Gastroenterology.
- Whitney Harper, program specialist (IM residency) is co-author of “Emerging from the Pandemic: AAIM Recommendations for Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Interview Standards” in the American Journal of Medicine.
- Duncan Hussey, R3 (Internal Medicine), has received the 2022 Harborview Housestaff Achievement Award for Clinical Ability and Humanitarian Concern. This award is bestowed by Harborview faculty to a graduating resident (selected from all the residency programs) who has demonstrated excellence in patient care and exceptional humanism in line with the Harborview mission.
- The Internal Medicine Residency Program staff are inaugural recipients of the Gender Equity Trailblazer Award. This team (Andréa Campbell, Kelli Corning, Gevelle Cullen, Keli Lock, Brian Valentine) has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to promoting a culture of inclusion – within that core value is a commitment to increasing equity for women and gender minorities in our department – and they have been trailblazers in recruitment, policies and practices, leadership diversity and communications. Read more on the Department of Medicine news site.
- The GME Office is pleased to welcome Jennifer Johal as our new Learning Environment Specialist on the Accreditation and Education team. Her first day with GME will be August 1, 2022. Jenn is joining us from Virginia Mason, where since 2020 she has served as Program Coordinator for Internal Medicine, Preliminary Medicine and the Transitional Year Residency Program. Prior to that role, she also worked as Hospital Development Coordinator at LifeCenter Northwest. Her background includes a BA in Early Childhood and Family Studies from the UW as well as a double masters degree in Health Advocacy and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College.
- Whitney Kiker, fellow (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is lead author of “Prognosis Predictions by Families, Physicians, and Nurses of Patients with Severe Acute Brain Injury: Agreement and Accuracy” in Neurocritical Care. DOM co-author is J. Randall Curtis.
- Alex Lois, former Surgical Outcomes Research Center T32 NIDDK post- doctoral research fellow & current general surgery R4, led a research team conducting a national study of peroral endoscopic myotomy that was published in JAMA Surgery: “Use and Safety of Per-Oral Endoscopic Myotomy for Achalasia in the US.”
- W. Robb MacLellan, professor and head (Cardiology) has accepted the newly created position of Department of Medicine Executive Vice Chair, effective July 1, 2022.
- Jacob Mayfield, fellow, is lead author and Catherine Otto, professor (Cardiology) is senior author of “The Young and the Breathless” in the New England Journal of Medicine. DOM co-authors are Danelle Hidano, Alexander Torres, and Mathilde Pioro.
- Blake Murphy (Vascular Surgery R1) was selected by the Society of Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) as the inaugural recipient of the Jack Cronenwett MD Fellowship in Training (SVSFIT) Program.
- Lara Oyetunji (UW Cardiothoracic Surgery graduate, Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the VA, physician at UWMC-ML) is the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Patricia L. Dawson Endowed Faculty Fellowship award.
- Joshua Rosen, Research Resident, published “Unrealistic optimism about treatment risks for acute appendicitis” in the British Journal of Surgery.
- Melissa Upton (Emeritus Professor of Pathology) will serve on the Joint Capstone Advisory Committee for the CMSS & ACGME joint ACGME Equity Matters™ project which aims to drive measurable improvements in equity, diversity, and inclusion in Medicine.
- Congratulations to Hunter Wessells, Chair, Department of Urology, for his new roles as President of the UWP Practice Plan. He will retain his Chair role.
- Denzel Woode, General Surgery R3, published “Asa G Yancey: The first to describe a modification of the Swenson Technique for Hirschsprung disease” in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.